Back To the Future

When I was younger, that is to say of an age when older people would ask me “So what do you want to do with your life?” I never really knew how to respond. So I established what was known as my ‘Plan A’ whose subtext read ‘This is what Everyone Expects me to do with My Life’. A long time ago I realised that I would never be living Plan A, neither Plans B or C. The Plan I’m living and loving has been royally tweaked along the way (and not in the manner of Meghan Markle!)

1, 4, 15, 60, 20: Magic Numbers Statistics

1 person in one hundred will be living their dream; their Plan A. 4 people in every hundred will be living what is very close to their dream and 15 people in every hundred will be living a satisfactory version of their dream. 60 People in every hundred will have settled for Plan B and wonder what happened to Plan A and 20 people in every hundred will be struggling to live a life they do not recognise and had not planned for. This set of numbers has been proven to fit any circumstance or situation at any time and if you identify with the group of 20 people who are struggling you might feel somewhat demoralised. Don’t. Firstly, the laws of nature dictate that everyone’s Plan A will need to be tweaked as Life Happens When You’re Making Plans! Secondly, what if it’s not our life that we need to tweak but the narrative that we use to define our life?

Tweak not Tweet; The Social Media Influence

Who really needs to know what you think? Why are we so interested in what others think? We are constantly encouraged to compare through social media platforms and, in addition, actively encouraged by all professional marketing campaigns to believe that we are lacking in something which often relates to our status. When our status is challenged we feel the need to compare ourselves to others around us and this need can feed our actions throughout the day, filling our lives with chit chat, opinions and bias, doubts and disillusions. This constant mental disruption means our planned trajectory is lined with potholes and can make our life journey an uncomfortable one. So why not just switch off. Not forever but just for one day a week. No Facebook, No Twitter or Instagram or Snap Chat or any of the other platforms you use daily. Decide which will be the best day for you to have a Social Media free day and, in the words of the great marketing God Nike, ‘Just Do It’! On your ‘Free From’ day observe how you feel. Observe the narrative that you’re not sharing with others; that seeks approval or reinforcement, or that makes you feel insecure or undeserving…and tweak it!